Thursday, April 28, 2011

Food Baby

You know those days when you eat like you just ran 10 miles but really you only ran two?  Usually they end something like this...


But in all honesty, I'd pay money to look like this pregnant

Turns out when I posted an ad for "Running Partner" I should have specified LONG DISTANCE running partner.  After driving 30 minutes I ran for less than 20 for 2 measly, slow miles. 



Boooo - if it had just been me I would have done 6 and wouldn't have even had any travelling time.  Back to the drawing board.  Now how to let this guy down easily... without saying "Uh, you suck at running so I want to run by myself."  Okay, I don't mean that.  You'd think when I mentioned in the ad that I'm running 1000 miles this year that people would get that I run a lot and far. 

Oh well.

I had a much better time later at the park with my good friend "C"... he really does know how to smile I promise.  That juice must have tasted delicious, I couldn't get him to take a break to give me a good smile.



And after stuffing myself silly all day I finally decided I needed to do some damage control.  Arms and shoulders?  Yes. 


Still feel like I'm carrying food baby though.  If only cutting salt out of my diet was easy but it is the hardest thing I have ever tried to do (IE: It's so hard that I'm not really even trying).  When I was younger Playdoh was on my food pyramid.  A little embarrassing to admit, yes, but it explains why I have a salt addiction.

I had a cup of regular coffee about an hour ago in hopes of getting super crazy tonight and going out way past my bedtime for a girls night with some good friends of mine.  Now it's storming like crazy and all I want to do is go to sleep. 

I wonder how much they'll care if I go in above outfit and don't fix my hair or makeup...

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I hate FL heat and humidity

I feel like there's been a theme to my last several posts: basically I am crazy. 

Guess what I did now?  I did something totally out of character for me... and posted an ad on craigslist.  I posted an ad for a running partner.  I was pretty surprised at the amount of responses I got.  After much facebook stalking and a lot of back and forth I have a few potential running partners.  Tomorrow the plan is to go running in the morning and then again in the evening to "test out" these new runners and see how it goes.  I'm pretty nervous - will I run too slow, will I be able to hold a decent conversation, will they be creepy, will it be super awkward?  The answer to that last one is probably yes because I make everything super awkward.  I hope I don't make other people feel as awkward and I feel like I'm making them feel.  Was that confusing? 

For safety sake we're running on roads that have a lot of traffic so if something fishy happens there will be people around to see me and save me (uh, I hope) and I'm bringing my phone with me in case I have to call for help.  I guess I should have some mace or something... I feel like there's a good chance I might scare off my running partners who seem pretty legit.  I'm just going to tell them I'm doing it all for my mom's sake.

I've been running more frequently than normal.  I change my mind all the time but for the time being I'm enjoying running more often but shorter distances

This is from a 6 miler on Saturday evening


I forgot to take a picture on Monday... but I ran 6 miles in the morning
6 miles again on Tuesday morning.  I ran a new route which was fun I guess but I'm grumpy because my runs have been SUCKING.  I'm not sure what it is but I want to stop every mile or so and can't push myself further.  I thought maybe I just needed to slow down, so I slowed down and I still feel like I need to stop.  I thought maybe it's cause I've been slacking on vitamins and haven't been doing my green monsters so I made sure to do that both Tuesday and Wednesday... but my Wednesday run sucked too.  Maybe it's the heat?


Really craptastic run on Wednesday evening.  Blah, I heat Florida heat and I hate Florida humidity.
And I should work on my posing...


I'm icing my shins, drinking iced decaf coffee getting ready for bed.  I slept in until 7 today and it was wonderful but I have to drive 30 minutes to get to the place I'm running tomorrow by 7 am so I better head to bed.  Here's hoping that my running partners are really as nice as they seem and things aren't as awkward as I'm imagining and that I don't regret posting that silly ad.

Have a good night! :)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Slacker

Yeah, so this is that Easter post I talked about... several days late.  What's new - I'm a total blog slacker.

This is going to read kind of like a race day post.  I can't help it.

I woke up at my normal time - 4:15AM, had coffee, wasn't hungry because who eats at 4:15 AM.  I did some core exercises because that always seems to help with balance the day of the performance.  I packed everything up for the dance (makeup, hair stuff, the clothes I was wearing) and everything for after the dance (read: normal clothes).  French twisted my hair, sprayed hair spray into my hair until it was rock hard, put on half of my face (er, makeup) and left at 6:30. 

I was supposed to be on stage ready to dance by 7:15 and I knew I was going to have to park way far away so I left a ton of time.

Everything went smoothly including the dance which you can see here

I start offstage and run on half way through.  I end up on the right of center. 

I'm starting to wonder why I had to write a whole post about Easter because I'm realizing that pretty much nothing exciting happened.  However, I have pictures!  That's why...

After church I went out to lunch with my dad, mom, little brother Philip and Rachel.  I convinced them to go with me to The Top (read: super indie/almost hippie, trendy eatery).  My dad was a little freaked out but seemed to warm up to the idea after tasting the vegan blueberry coffeecake french toast. 

I got to the restaurant about 15 minutes before everyone else
So of course self portraits ensued


This is a shot of the patio at the restaurant.  Sometime when it is definitely NOT really hot outside then I'll have to eat back there. 


I got the same thing I did last time
Falafel burger on a pretzel roll with sweet potato fries and fruit


And family bonding happened



Philip and my mom (check out creeper mc creep face in the background)




My dad and I


My favorite sister in the whole world.

Can I just say, Easter is no fun when there are no kids around to give Easter baskets to and have Easter egg hunts. 



Monday, April 25, 2011

How to make your neighbors think you're crazy

I just realized I haven't posted in about a week.  Oops! 

I completely forgot about blogs, I haven't even been reading any!  Why?  Cause I've been dancing for about 3 hours everyday.

I'm involved in a dance team at my church (what?!  Dance at church?  I know... we're heathens).  Maybe that sounds strange to you but at my church we believe in using all of your talents to honor God.

But now the Easter dance is done and I have my Thursdays back and don't have any last minute 3 hour practices on weekends to worry about either.  Yay!  I love dancing and I feel so guilty that I'm glad to be done because dance is really my first love but now all I really want to do is run and dancing is getting in the way of that.

This isn't a youtube video so I can't just insert it into the post.  The easter dance should be posted soon but all I've got now is the Christmas dance.  I start in the middle.

Christmas Dance

Despite my crazy week last week I still managed to get a lot done


What am I doing you ask?  Uh... good question.
Lesson learned: don't dance while you're waiting on the automatic picture timer
Before my run...



10 miles later and alllllll I want is something cold to drink.

After that I went to a new running store to try to solve some issues I've been having.  I wanted to know if all of my random injuries are because my shoes don't fit properly.  Good news, I guess, is that my shoes fit great and I have a very very neutral foot and that I have a midfoot strike (without even trying - awesome).  The guy who helped me did sell me some orthotics to put in my shoe that will apparently help my IT band problem (which I haven't actually had trouble with lately at all).

While I was there, in typical Sharon style I bought a ton of other things too.



Those magical shoe inserts that will take away my knee pain


"The Stick" which is actually not supposed to be used as a baseball bat.  This fun thing is basically like a portable foam roller.  My favorite part is that I can use it while I'm in bed.  I dislike the foam roller cause I actually have to get out of bed to use it.  I am obviously a walking contradiction - I love to run but I really really love to sit in my bed all day.


These super cute styling compression sleeves.  I'm regretting my choice of white cause now they're kind of grey.  I've only worn them twice...

They also talked me into ANOTHER shirt - just what I need...

And now: how to make your neighbors think you're crazy



Completely unmatching outfit, unbrushed hair, no make up, no bra, shins wrapped in ace bandages, no shoes:  Cleaning your car

They should know by now...

I finished up the week with two more 6 milers



Hey week:  Whatcha got?  I'm ready for it, bring it on.

I hope all of you had a great Easter weekend.  Hopefully I'll be back later today to catch up on some posting and tell you all about my Easter weekend.

In the meantime:  I recently "liked" Runner's World Magazine on facebook.  Recently they posted about running with allergies.  The second part of their post mentioned not re-wearing the same workout clothes.  Well, I don't have allergies so I don't have to worry about that at all but a lot of people posted about how re-wearing workout clothes is absolutely disgusting.  At this point I have so many workout clothes that I really should wear different ones just to get my moneys worth out of it but in general I don't think recycling clothes is that gross.  Am I crazy?  What does it matter if you're just going to sweat and get them dirty again anyways?

I want to know what you think!




Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Want to know how to make the baggers think you're crazy?

Tell them to put the groceries back into the cart without bagging them... what?  I forgot my reusable bags =/

A friend of mine has really got me going on sustainability and taking care of our earth.  I'm working hard to do my part and when I have the choice I try to steer away from one-use items.  Even items that can be recycled... it takes a lot of energy to recycle.  I don't mean it takes a lot of energy to put items in the recycling bin - that one is pretty easy.  I mean to actually recycle the item - crush it, melt it, whatever else they do (I am definitely not a recycling expert).

This means reusable bags (I know that's not weird, everyone does that now), bringing some kind of storage container when I go to restaurants so I don't have to get a take out box, not buying bottles of water... there are a million other things I could and should do but this is what I'm focusing on so far. 

In other news...

Last week I decided to look up shin splints.  I've been dealing with shin splints for the past several weeks.  Kind of strange since I didn't have any while training for the marathon...

I didn't think they were that big of a deal.  They're a really common injury and I thought you just ran through them, iced them and foam rolled.  Well... apparently what's actually happening is that your muscles are becoming detached from the shin bone.  Uhh, yeah, that doesn't sound too good. 

So I talked to a physical therapist friend of mine and she told me all kinds of fun stuff I could do to help with the shin splints.  Like a good little patient I've been following all of her instructions.



I iced
and iced
and iced some more

The worst part was when I took ice cubes and massaged my shins with them trying to break up scar tissue that apparently accumulates when you get shin splints

I also foam rolled my shins until I thought I was going to die - I have a really high pain tolerance and this was pretty intense.



Then before I go to bed I massage my shins with Icy Hot and wrap my legs with ace bandages in such a way the the muscle that has been pulling away from the shin will reattach.

This is actually really nice.  I fall asleep with a nice soothing, cooling feeling in my legs.  What is not so fun is pulling the self adhesive ace bandages off of my legs in the morning.  Now that is all kinds of burning torture but totally my fault for buying the self adhesive bandages in the first place.

With all of the craziness going down I haven't been out running for a whole week.  I'm feeling tons better and tomorrow I'm planning on a nice long run.

In the meantime I've been doing the usual: stadiums and weights.



Stadiums Monday



Stadiums Tuesday


Obviously super thrilled about stadiums two days in a row.  I was in a better mood by the time I got there.


Also really thrilled about my awkward pants.  I just don't understand why they're so much longer in the back...
And why I bought them in the first place



Legs & back - I love stretching, I love stretching... hmm, if I repeat it, will I believe it?  Pretty sure my shin splints are because I got lazy with stretching. 


Super creepy shot of pull ups.  For the record, I was trying to smile at the camera.  I promise I'm not possessed by demons.  I hope not anyway ;)

Shoulders, biceps, triceps

The best part about working out at home?

Your work out clothes don't even have to match a little


Someday when I point you'll actually be able to see my guns :)


Have you ever had shin splints?  Have any suggestions how to make them better quickly and how to prevent them in the first place?  

I've pretty much decided it's because I haven't been stretching as much and possibly because I ran too far too fast in new shoes but I'll take any tips you have! :) 

Thursday, April 14, 2011

I need a new running partner

How the heck is it already Thursday?  These weeks are just flying by!

I've been having a really great week, well, mentally anyways.  All the kids I babysit have been so much fun this week and I've been babysitting the perfect amount - not too much, not too little.  Most of my ballet classes have been really well behaved this week.  Crossing my fingers that next week goes just as well as this week because it's Parent Observation Day in class... I'm not a fan, at all.

On top of all that, I'm just so excited to start weight training again and Rachel and I have been able to get out for stadiums twice this week (we haven't gone for awhile now...).  Running?  Eh, not so much.  Mentally, yes.  Physically - oh yeah... I had a cold.

On Tuesday I decided I was going to fit in a 10 miler before work.  I had sort of been struggling with some sort of cold but it was so mild and I was feeling pretty good so I didn't think it would be a problem.


3 miles later I felt like poop so I turned around and struggled the 3 miles back.  Lesson learned: just because you feel "mostly good" does not mean you will be feeling great 6 miles later. 



Success!  In my book that means finishing without puking ;)
...which is exactly what I felt like doing

I met some sheep at ballet class today:





Why yes, I do have the best job!

Yesterday was stadiums:


Followed several hours later with an intense (and hot, hence the no shirt thing) chest and back workout.  Can't say I've missed pullups


Ahh, yes, now I know why my chest hurt when I was trying to breathe while running today

And then, my favorite part of this whole story:
Yesterday Rachel begged me to go running with her today.  I don't get this chance very often so even though I had planned to run 10 miles by myself I agreed to go running with her.  I decided that I would run 5 miles with her and then after I dropped her off I would run another 5 by myself.

As I thought about it I actually decided that I was going to be pretty happy with this arrangement - I'd still have gone 10 miles but it would end up being a lot easier than if I ran those miles by myself.

The only downside was that I would have to wake up at O'dark thirty to drive all the way out to her apartment and then of course I would have to drive home too.

Well, I did it.  I woke up at 4:15 so I could have some coffee and *ahem* make sure I had used to bathroom before our run.  Oh, and foam roll.

I left the house at 6, and texted Rachel about 3 times before I started calling her.  I called 5 times and didn't manage to wake her up.  Well, since I was already at her apartment I decided I would just run my 5 miles alone first and then hopefully she would be awake by the time I got back.  I brought my phone with me so i could text/call her along the way.  I'm not sure how many texts I ended up sending, maybe 5?  The last one said "you're dead to me"

I also called another 5 times making that total 10.  I realize I could have just gone the last 5 miles by myself but by that time I was just mad that I had gone all that way for nothing.  She's not on my happy list today.

I just can't believe someone could sleep through that many phone calls.  I'm pretty convinced she just didn't want to pick up the phone and tell me she didn't feel like coming out.



This is my grumpy face at Rachel because she is lame ;)

Ooooon the bright side:  I ran a 7:12 for the first mile.  I can't wait to break 6 miles!

I have the whole day ahead of me and nothing to do.  I have a very good feeling finishing off those last 5 miles will not be part of the plan but lets hope something good comes from this day with nothing to do but sit in bed and watch Veronica Mars on netflix watch instantly.




Monday, April 11, 2011

The Loot

I should warn you before you read more: This post is all about me.  I mean, really, they all are but this one even more so.  If you're not in the mood to see a bunch of self-timer self portraits then you should probably go somewhere else.  If you do want a good laugh though you should scan to the bottom of the page and take a look at my "bloopers" - who am I kidding, pretty much all my photos are bloopers.

I went shopping on Thursday with my mom and grandmother and then I hit up a few stores on Saturday and finished up the week with a stop on Sunday.  Did I need anything?  Uh... not at all. 

Remember in middle school and high school when you bought clothes from Wal-Mart and tried to pretend they were from some really expensive store in the mall?  Oh... that was just me?

Well now I buy clothes from Wal-Mart (okay, not true, I just buy cheap clothes) and I brag about it.  In my mind the less money you pay for an item of clothing the more valuable it really is.

FOREVER 21
(aka my favorite store)
Scarf - $5.50

Goes well with skirt/shorts and probably jeans

Super comfy pants for $8.50... sadly they make my legs look like tree trunks (did I mention I have 4 of them in various colors?  Oops)

Cream top that I also have in red - $11.50 - want to hear something kind of pathetic?  I almost never ever pay that much for just a shirt.  I'm moving up in the world.

Plato's Closet
If you've never heard of Plato's then... well, you're missing out big time.  Basically you pay dollars and pennies for gently used name brand clothing.  This is my kind of store.  You can also sell your clothes there, also for near nothing. 


Really comfy, long tank with small pocket for dance (and sleeping, yes please) - $2.40


Basically my favorite shirt in the entire world.  Now I have it in three colors.  I still want more. $5.60, shorts $4


$3.20


$2.40


This shirt for $3.20

On Sunday I hit up another one of my favorite places in the world:
TJ Maxx Homegoods

Shirt for $7.99


The front

The back.  $10 - originally $58.  Who the heck pays these prices?


Running capris - $19.99

Now I am forbidding myself to set foot in a clothing store for... well, at least a week

BLOOPERS!!! :)






I really have no words of explanation... it is a little odd that all the really bad pictures happened with these pants

Okay, I promise not to post this many pictures of myself all at once ever again ;)